SEIU Healthcare MN announced on February 7 that contract negotiations had reached an impasse, telling Health Partners officials that a strike was planned for February 19. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — HealthPartners and members of the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota union struck a tentative contract early Tuesday morning to avoid a strike that was set to begin Wednesday. General increases include salary increases for each contract year, the protection of a ”classic” health care plan against planned changes, and the protection of overtime pay against reductions and changes. A spokesperson for Health Partners issued a brief written statement Tuesday: ”We have reached a preliminary agreement with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota on a new contract. All Health Partner clinics will continue to operate normally. Related Articles Mayo Clinic: Omicron Cases Are Likely to Double COVID-19 Friday Update: 11,560 Additional Infections as Case Count Continues to Rise Study: More Evidence Linking Virus to Multiple Sclerosis Supreme Court Rules COVID-19 Vaccine Rule for U.S. Companies Omicron is everywhere. So what will the Vax/City Test mandate accomplish? ”It`s pretty good,” she said. ”The entire bargaining team decided that we would rather accept this contract than have a seven-day strike.” Together, as a team, we have worked long and hard to defend the benefits and salaries our families deserve. After months of negotiations and a crushing strike vote, we were able to reach a solid preliminary agreement for a new contract that maintains excellent health services,” said Wickoren. ”As in any negotiation, we didn`t get everything we wanted. But we are very proud of the way our members stood up together and resisted the huge cuts and cost changes in health care and overtime pay that management had been insisting on for months. The final agreement also includes improved salary increases for each contract year.
The bargaining team encourages our members to vote ”yes” to accept this agreement. You have the next few days to review in detail the terms of the preliminary agreement. According to the union, the new contract guarantees workers a 7.5 percent wage increase over the next three years, protects their ”classic” health insurance benefits, and protects overtime pay provisions from cuts and changes. SEIU officials said they would share details of the three-year contract with their members before releasing them. The contract between HealthPartners and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota expired on January 31. After marathon contract negotiations overnight, the union, which represents nurses, laboratory technicians, physician assistants and other non-medical nurses at Health Partners medical clinics on the other side of the subway, called off a strike scheduled for Wednesday. The provisional agreement was reached about a day before the start of a seven-day strike. The union`s 1,800 members will vote on the deal next week. The new costs and benefits of a secondary health care plan will come into effect in 2021. ”There will be changes to our `Choice` plan, which allows you to get out of the Health Partners system,” Lynch said. Through small voluntary contributions to COPE, more than 300,000 seiU members have created a strong voice for workers in politics.
COPE allows us to have a direct impact on elections and key issues in our communities. From Florida to California, from Texas to New York, members from all corners of the country contribute $10 a month to build one of the largest and most powerful base PACs in the country. A 5 p.m. bargaining session ended at 3 a.m Tuesday with a preliminary proposal that will be put to the vote next week in front of 1,800 members. ”As with any negotiation, we didn`t get everything we wanted,” Nancy Wickoren, a 31-year-old nurse at Health Partners and a member of the bargaining team, said in a written statement. ”But we are very proud of the way our members stood up together and resisted the huge cuts and changes in health care costs and overtime pay that management had been insisting on for months.” Listen to President Jamie Gulley talk about the union`s latest news and updates. Ta will be voted on next week by seiu Healthcare MN members. The 1,800 employees in the collective bargaining unit represent almost all nurses except physicians, including registered nurses, dental hygienists, RPNs, CMAs, midwives, laboratory technicians, physician assistants and a total of more than 80 different jobs.
They work in 30 Health Partners clinics in the twin cities. EU spokesmen said the provisional agreement was reached around 3 .m. Tuesday after 5 p.m. of negotiations. Headquartered in Bloomington, Health Partners has hospitals, clinics and specialty care facilities throughout the metropolitan area and western Wisconsin. The deal comes after union members voted overwhelmingly for a 7-day strike against unfair labor practices (ULP) for 1,800 members on Thursday, February 7, by an overwhelming majority of 95 percent to 5 percent. This followed months of planning and organization. The energy and movement for this vote had been long in coming. Nancy Wickoren, a 31-year-old licensed practical nurse at HealthPartners and a member of the bargaining team at SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, said in a press release that Kate Lynch, a member of SEIU`s 24-member bargaining team, said workers would receive annual wage increases of 2.5 percent over the next three years under the preliminary agreement, the initial increase being retroactive to February 1. At SEIU, we make politics work for us by holding our elected representatives accountable for our values as workers. The SEIU represents approximately 80 occupational classifications, from midwives to dental hygienists. ”The members of our bargaining team would like to express their deep gratitude for the support we have received from the public and our patients in this fight.
It was really inspiring to see the whole community come together to show their support for The Health Partners nurses. To the other members of the union, especially other health care workers, we hope we have shown that through cohesion and unionization, we can protect what we have earned and make profits that will allow us to return to what we really want to do: provide world-class care to Minnesota families…